Harry Potter and the next generation
by Lyla Ride
Summary: What happens when Harry's sheltered eldest child, James, goes to Hogwarts for the first time?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

James, Penny and Jake watched as the looming castle grew bigger as the train grew closer to it. The solid stone walls looked as if they could hold anything in or keep anything out. Above the main part of the castle there were a number of stone turrets and towers, each with pointed wood roof and windows circulating around the towers. "It's magnificent." whispered Penny in awe. "Wow" said Jake, in the tiniest voice possible. James was absolutely speechless with wonder.

Then the train stopped.

The little group was shaken back to reality by the bump of the train stopping. They quickly dashed down the isle of the trolley with the rest of the excited students. As they jumped out the door, a booming voice shouted, "FIRS' YEARS, THIS WAY! FIRS' YEARS!" Hagrid rounded the corner swinging a lantern in his giant hand. "James!" he shouted over the chatter of the other students as all the first year students gathered around Hagrid. Hagrid wrapped James in a rib-crushing hug, knocking the wind out of James. "Hi, Hagrid." said James breathlessly after Hagrid had set him down. "An' yeh' mus' be Penny McMillan, Ernie and Hannah's girl, righ'? Yeh' look jus' like them! I remember seeing ye' a' James' birthday parties!" giving Penny a bear hug, too. "Good ter see yeh!" "Nice to see you to Hagrid." Said Penny, leaning on James for support until she got her breath back.

"Now, who migh' this be? Asked Hagrid, looking at Jake. Jake had been trying not to be noticed by Hagrid. He seemed friendly enough, but he sure looked scary. 12-feet-tall, with a mane of busy black hair, and beard of the same kind. He had on a great, fury coat that covered his whole body down to his ankles where you could see his shoes mad out of the hide of some animal or another. As Jake looked him up and down, he noticed his eyes, which were about the only thing you could see on his face besides his nose, which was rather pudgy. His eyes were great and black and had a merry twinkle in them, which made Jake less afraid of him. But James still answered for him, after seeing that his friend was a little bit awestruck by Hagrid.

"This is Jake, Hagrid. Penny and I met him on the train ride here." Said James, giving Jake a side-long glance. Penny shoved his shoulder to get him to stop staring. Hagrid didn't seem to notice and lead the first year students to the lake where there were small rowboats waiting. "Three to a boat, please!" yelled Hagrid as the students clamored into the boats. James, Jake and Penny grabbed the nearest one and got in. "O.K., everyone in? Good, let's ge' goin'." Said Hagrid tapping the front of his row boat and started leading the other ones across the lake. As James' boat started, it gave a small lurch, and Penny quickly grabbed James' arm in fright. " It's all right, Penny." Said James calmly, though he was shaking, too.

The small boats passed underneath a bridges that lead across the lake and over to Hogwarts castle. They watched as the other students went into the castle over the bridge on carriages pulled by nothing. Standing next to the loading dock was a witch with tall pointed green hat and wearing a long green robe with a black shimmering dress and a silver belt underneath. She had on horn-rimmed glasses and a stern look and had her steel gray hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her hands were clasped in front of her and her foot was tapping, like she was waiting impatiently for someone. When she saw the boats coming, she stopped tapping her foot, and waited for the boats to pull up.

When the boats landed, she said in a loud, clear voice, "I am Professor McGonagall. I am the head of Gryffindor House and your transfiguration teacher. I will lead you all to the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses. The houses are, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. All are very honorable and are fine houses. None are better than the others. When you go into the Hall you will stand in a group at the front of the hall and you will be called up, one by one, to be sorted. You will then go and sit with your house at the designated table. Your headmaster, Professor Barney Steinwright, will then say a few words and we will have dinner. The Headmaster will explain from there. Now, follow me." She then turned on her heel and started walking very fast through the corridors.

When they got to a couple of huge wooden doors, Professor McGonagall stopped and turned to face the, now out breath, students. "Wait here. When these doors open, go through, up to the front of the Hall." She then walked through the doors and into what could only be assumed to be the Great Hall.

" Blimey, did you catch a word of what she said during that first little speech?" asked Jake. " No, not one word of it." Said James, " But I think that she was here when my mum and dad were in school." " Wow, she must be pretty old, huh James?" asked Penny. As soon as she said James, whispers broke out amongst the students outside the Hall. One brave first-year came up and said " S-ss-o, your dad is Harry Potter?" " Yeah, I guess?" said James, looking over his shoulder at Penny and Jake, both whom looked strangely guilty. "Wha-?" asked James, but he was cut off by the screechy opening of the doors of the Great Hall.

The students all turned to face the anxious faces off the older students. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th,5th,6th, and 7th year students all watched as the new students filed into the Great Hall. James looked up at the ceiling and saw the starry sky. Next to him, Penny explained, " the ceiling is bewitched to look like the sky outside". As the students stopped at the front of the room, they saw Professor McGonagall standing there, holding a scroll in one hand and a tattered old hat in the other. She set the hat down on the stool next to her and it suddenly grew eyes and a mouth. That was not the strangest part though, because then the hat started to sing:

"It is time once again, the sorting time

To sort the first years out

In song and in rhyme

But this year I have a story to tell

Some of you and your parents

Know it quite well

This is a story in which none of you lived

This is the story

About the Boy Who Lived

Seventeen years, twice over, a boy was born

Into a strange world

One that was ruled by the Dark Lord

Most people feared and obeyed

But some stood out

With their cunning and brave

When this boy was only one

The Dark Lord paid a visit

To this young son

He killed both his parents, but he couldn't

You see

Kill the young boy, named Harry

Protect by his mother's love

The Dark Lord was in defeat

For thirteen years

Until the two once again meet

The next year, began the rebellion

With the boy and his friends

He defeated the Dark Lord once again

But his godfather met his end

In Harry's sixth year, he returned to Hogwarts

His favorite place

Only learn from and lose Albus Dumbledore

Who is a memory which no one can erase

Year 7 arrives, but Harry doesn't return

To the place that he loved so much

He has to defeat the Dark Lord

He with only his knowledge as a crutch

Harry goes with two best friends

Hermione and Ron

To look for the vile horcruxes

The search goes on and on

With only four of seven horcruxes found

Harry returns to Hogwarts grounds

And waits for the war to begin

And to dispose of the horcruxes, including him

With the help of all his friends

Harry is triumphant in the end

Lord voldemort has died and is gone

But Harry still lives on

Seventeen years it has been

And Harry's blood is here again

But this time in the form of his son

The son of Harry Potter, the champion

So let us let the sorting begin

For now the school year is in

I see destiny that is great

And that will play a part in fate

Now let the sorting, BEGIN"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 4

James stood there in shocked silence. Penny watched him, worried. Jake looked everywhere but at James. James still looked as though he had been clubbed over the head. His mouth hung open, dumbstruck and he had a dazed look in his eyes. "James?" Penny asked, shaking James' shoulder "Are you alright?" James didn't have time to answer though because Professor McGonagall called "Settle down, settle down. First we have Irving Arching!"

"Hufflepuff!" cried the hat

"Gary Bones?"

"Ravenclaw!"

The list went on with no Gryffindor until,

"Chloe Fletcher?"

"Gryffindor!"

James, Penny and Jake waited until the list got to Penny's name

"Penndelin McMillan?"

Penny walked nervously up to the front and sat on the stool. McGonagall put the Sorting Hat onto her head and it shouted at the top of its lungs,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Penny heaved an obvious sigh of relief, because, even though both of her parents had been in Hufflepuff, she had wanted to be in Gryffindor.

"Jacob Newton?"

Jake's face turned chalk white and then bright red, because she had said his full first name and then back to chalk white, because he was so nervous. He walked slowly up to the front of the Hall and had the hat put on his head. The hat then screamed for all to hear,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Jake looked as excited as Penny did, about knowing someone in his house. They sat next to each other, anxiously waiting for James' time to be sorted.

"James Potter?"

A quiet whispering grew around the room as people realized that he was Harry Potter's son. Why would they not tell me? Thought James. How could they not tell me? I have the right to know important things like this. What about Albus and Lily? They still don't know. Should I tell them?

"James Potter!"

I am definitely writing to my dad. He thought. Dad and Mum. I wonder if they thought that we just weren't mature enough-

"POTTER!!"

James jumped at the sound of his name. "Mr. Potter, would you please grace us with the pleasure of sorting you, into your house. Snap out of your daydreams, please, and step up here." Said McGonagall, sternly.

"Sorry, Professor." Said James quietly.

He quickly stepped up the stairs to Professor McGonagall. She eyed him carefully and motioned for him to sit down on the stool. He sat down and she placed the Sorting Hat onto his head.

"Interesting," It said, making James jump. "A brilliant mind, like your mother, but a brave heart, like your father. Loyal and trustworthy. Very proud. What house to put you in?"

"Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffin-" thought James, before he was interrupted by the Hat

"Gryffindor, eh?" said the Hat, "Good Choice. A house made for the brave at heart, where the students are loyal, as well as good followers, but make good leaders to. Alright then, GRYFFINDOR!!!"

A wild applause started from the Gryffindor table as James went to join his fellow Gryffindor, including Teddy Lupin.

Teddy was basically James' big brother. He was in his 7th year. Both his parents had died before he was even a year old, fighting a dark wizard. He was also in Gryffindor House and the reason that he was like a big brother to James was because James' dad was Teddy's godfather, and Teddy had lived in their house during his summers away from Hogwarts, all except for this summer because he had been working, with James' Uncle Charlie, in Albania with dragons. James hadn't seen Teddy on the train, but the Potters had received a letter from Uncle Charlie a week before that he would be bringing Teddy to Hogwarts personally, to thank Teddy for helping over the summer.

Teddy clapped James on the back as he walked by to sit between Penny and Jake. Across the table, two of his cousins, Fred and Lisa Weasley, high-fived him, saying congratulations. Fred and Lisa were fraternal twins, even though they looked so much alike. They were his Uncle George's kids. Uncle George had also been a twin, but his twin had died when they were 19 from the same causes as Teddy's parents. In total, James had 5 uncles and 4 aunts, He also had 9 cousins, Ron and Hermione's kids, Rose and Hugo, George and Angelina's kids, Fred (year 4) and Roxanne (year 4), Bill and Fleur's kids, Victoire (year 5), Dominique (year 2) and Louis (year 1), and Percy and Audrey's kids, Molly (year 2) and Lucy. It was Louis' turn now.

"Louis Weasley?"

Louis walked up and had the hat put on his head. The hat then yelled

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lou looked relieved that he was with the rest of his family in Gryffindor and happily skipped down the isle to squeeze in between Fred and Roxy. As he sat down, he got a double clapping on the back from Fred and Roxy. James remembered how long his parents had fought about where Victoire and Dom were going to go. Their mother wanted them to go to her school, Beauxbatons Academy for girls. But Uncle Bill wanted them to go to Hogwarts with their brother. They decided in the end to send all 3 kids to Hogwarts, where Uncle Bill and all of his aunts and uncles, except for Aunt Fleur went to school.

"Well that concludes the sorting for this year. Now our headmaster would like to say a few words." Said McGonagall stepping down from the podium as Headmaster Steinwright stepped up.

" Thank you, Professor McGonagall, for the introduction." Said the headmaster, in a scratchy voice. He was a rather tall man with short white beard and a large stomach. He had flushed pink cheeks and a merry twinkle in his light brown eyes. He had his hands folded on top of his stomach and his eyebrows moved up and down when he talked. He had a tuft of white hair on his head and he had this look about him, like he always knew more than you did, but never gloated about it.

" I am going to keep this short and sweet. Welcome back to Hogwarts or welcome to Hogwarts. The years here are never alike, but I have a feeling that this year will be especially different from all others. I have no doubt that we will know this by the end of the year. I take this time to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is, as always, off limits to everyone unless you have special permission to go in there. Now, LET'S EAT!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter5

As he said these last words, he waved his hands and before everyone appeared plates over loaded with food. There meat, potatoes and stew as well as, cakes, pastries and candy. Everyone dug into the food and talked to the people all around them. James loaded his plate and then looked at the people around him.

Louis flung his pale blonde hair out of his eyes. He was one of his few kid relatives who didn't have the bright red Weasley hair, along with him, Albus and Rose. In fact, he looked more like his mother than his father, with his pale blue eyes and even paler skin. Next to him, the twins were scarffing down anything within reach.

"Honestly, do you two have to be such pigs?!" Cried Louis, annoyed to the point of no return.

"Yeth." said both the twins with their mouths full.

They both had the bright red Weasley hair. Roxy's hair was in a bun on top of her head and Fred's ear length and he was constantly flipping his hair out of his eyes. They both had big ears that got bright red when they were embarrassed and long noses. Neither was very tall, but they both had extremely long legs.

Down the table, Teddy was showing a group of Hufflepuff 1st years his special talent that he had inherited from his mother. He had the ability to make his hair change color. Right then he was changing it from turquoise to a fiery red and orange. He had a short nose and a pointed chin. He was very tall and strong and was known as the class clown at Hogwarts.

His best friend, and partner in crime, Victorie Weasley, was also sitting there. She was 2 years younger than Teddy, and was also James' cousin. She was very pretty with her curly red hair and her short, thin nose. She had freckles dusting her face across her nose and clear blue eyes. Her full lips were always smiling and laughing and joking, but she didn't get into as much trouble as Teddy, because she was a straight A+ student.

He turned in the opposite direction to see his other cousins who attended Hogwarts, Dom and Molly. They were the cloest, relationship wise, and were also confused for sisters on a constant basis. Both had shoulder length red hair, long noses and thick smatterings of freckles, but Dom had the pale blue eyes of Fleur and Molly had the cinnamon colored eyes that were not unlike James'

"So James, what did you guys do this summer?" asked Roxy.

"Nothing, much. We traveled around Italy and went to Rome for my birthday. That was fun. We saw you guys at the picnic. That was very funny how you dropped the water balloon on Uncle Charlie's head. You guys missed it. After you left, he tried to dry off his clothes, but heated them up to much and they caught fire. It got put out pretty quick, but you should have seen the poor bloke's face!" recounted James, laughing at the memory.

Every year, all of his immediate family on his mother's side got together for a picnic. Every year it is at a different spot. This year it was at a river in the middle of nowhere. But it was nice peaceful…. until the twins and Teddy started pulling pranks. James always had so much fun at those picnics. It was the highlight of his summer.

Soon the meal was over and Headmaster Steinwright stepped up to the podium and held his hands up in silence.

"Prefects, if you would lead the students to the dormitories. You will find your things in your dormitories. Have sweet dreams. Lights out at 11:00 pm. Good night!"

James looked around at the people in the common room with him.

Hours previous, everyone in Gryffindor house had been lead by the current prefects to the entrance to Gryffindor tower. The entrance to the Tower was hidden behind a portrait of a rather large woman in gorgeous clothing. His father had told him that this was the portrait of the Fat Lady, which was how she was known around Hogwarts.

"Password," the portrait asked in a shrill voice that made you think that she thought highly of herself.

"Wolves bane," said the prefect at the head of the large mass of students.

"Correct. You may enter. And welcome to Gryffindor House." She said to the passing 1st years.

"Listen up! Boy's dormitories are up that staircase to the left. Girls, the same, only to your right. Light's out are at 11 o'clock. Everyone out of the common room by 10:30! All of your belongings are in your rooms already. Have a nice night." Said the prefect.

Now, James sat in one of the comfy chairs in the room. It was 1 in the morning and Jake had shaken him awake, saying that he, Penny and all of his cousins were meeting in the common room and they wanted him to come.

"It's 1 in the morning, though. And we have classes starting tomorrow!" Said James, sleepily, looking at his clock and letting his head fall back to the pillow.

"But it's about what the sorting hat said earlier! They all want to talk to you about it!" And at those words, James woke straight, pulled on a robe and some slippers and followed Jake down the dormitory stairs to where everyone was sitting around the fire and whispering to each other. They suddenly stopped when they saw James and Jake.

James was then placed in one of the comfy chairs, where he looked at all the people sitting on the other chairs and couches. Fred, Roxy, Victoire, Dom, and Molly were there. Teddy, Louis, Penny and Jake were also there. All of them were looking tired and their eyes were a little glazed over. Some had even, in the cases of Victoire, who was leaning on Teddy, and Louis, who was leaning on Dom, fallen asleep against each other. Everybody stirred, though, when James spoke up.

"So, how long has everybody here known about my dad being a famous wizard who defeated the Dark Lord?"

Teddy and Dom shook awake Victoire and Louis and everyone looked at each other, but it was James who spoke again.

"Why did no one tell me? How come I had to be left out of this little inner circle?"

"We would have told you." Said Penny "but your parents, or in Jake's case, me, told us not to."

" Most of us didn't learn that he saved the wizarding world until we started school and learned about it in our classes or from classmates who had heard the story from their parents." Said Roxy

"Yeah, so, we didn't have a clue either," Said Fred.

"But Penny, Jake and Louis knew before school started. Why is that?" asked James, his curiosity turning slowly into anger, bubbling inside of him.

"Penny found out from her folks, Jake read about your dad in a textbook and Louis found out from Victoire and I." said Dom. Victoire nodded her head in agreement.

"Do Albus, Lily, Rose or Hugo know about this?" asked James.

"No, no one in our family, younger than 11 knows this secret." Said Victoire, who was still leaning, on Teddy, for support.

"I think that it was the biggest shock for me, because I was the first to find out. I never suspected Harry to have saved any world. I just always thought of him as my godfather who had had my father as a teacher during his 3rd year." Said Teddy, looking somewhat sad, to be talking about his dead father, whom he had never known.

"And almost everyone else in the school knows about this. Is it common knowledge to the rest of the world?" asked James, starting to forgive his family and friends for not telling him.

"It is common knowledge, but only to the wizarding world. Not to the muggles." Said Teddy. James heard snoring and looked up. Little LOu had fallen asleep again against Dom again. He was by far the youngest student at Hogwarts currently, being born a few hours before the cutoff date. Everyone else was starting to go to sleep, too.

"You guys can go to sleep if you want. I'm going to stay up. Teddy? Could you stay? I have a few more questions." Said James, silently hoping that Teddy would stay.

"Sure, I thought you might have some more questions. Let me just make sure that no one knows that I have gone." And then he tip-toed up the stairs to his dormitory and checked to make sure that everyone was asleep. It wasn't until after Teddy had come back that James realized that Teddy had gone up the wrong staircase. He had gone to Victoire's dormitory by mistake. Or maybe on purpose?

"What do want to know?" Asked Teddy, making his hair change color, to match the flames, in the fireplace. That was his favorite hair color by far.

"I just wanted to know the full story. From the beginning. I am going to write my dad and ask him anyways, if you don't want to tell me," Said James.

"I'll tell what I know, but I think that you should write to your dad, too. He and your mom and most of your relatives were there during the final battle, which happened here at Hogwarts. But let me start at the beginning." And with that Teddy went into the story of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 6

"35 or 36 years ago, James and Lily Potter got married and a couple years later, they were blessed with a baby boy."

"That was my dad, right?" asked James.

"Yeah, that is your dad. But before he was born, his parents had joined a secret society called the Order of the Phoenix. It was a society that was trying to throw over a Dark Wizard, the most feared wizard of their time. This wizard's name was Lord Voldemort.

"Let me tell you about this Dark Wizard. He had had a muggle father, whom he never met, until he was about 15, and a witch mother, who died shortly after he was born. He was raised in an orphanage, in London, until one day, when he was 11, a man named Albus Dumbledore came to tell him that he had been accepted at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore was a teacher at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and they wanted Voldemort (whose name at the time was Tom Riddle, after his father) to come to Hogwarts. Tom hadn't known of magic before then, but he had known that he was different from the rest of the children at the orphanage. He had already learned how to control some of his magic and was using it against some of the other kids in the orphanage. Tom immediately accepted the offer of learning how to better control his magic and was soon of to Hogwarts.

"He soon found Hogwarts to be like the first real home he had ever had and he loathed the summers, when he would have to return to the muggle orphanage, where he spent the first 11 years of his life. By age 16, he had decided to go to the town where his father lived and to kill him for never being there and for being a muggle. That summer, he did go and kill his father, and his grandparents, too.

"In his 6th year at Hogwarts, he asked one of his teachers how to make a Horcrux."

"What is a Horcrux?" asked James.

"A Horcrux is an object which uses dark magic to contain a part of someone's soul, after it has been ripped apart. The way that a soul is ripped apart is by the horcrux maker killing someone. Sometimes when you kill someone, your soul is ripped apart, but not every time. Your soul can only be ripped apart if, in the act of killing someone, you don't feel anything by doing it. If you are deeply troubled by the killing, then your soul will not be ripped apart. The only way to kill someone after they have made a horcrux, is by destroying the horcrux with something that it can't repair itself with. Such as, basilisk venom, fiendfyre, or the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

"You might have never heard of any of these things, but your dad is familiar with all of them.

"Soon after Tom left Hogwarts, he changed his name to Lord Voldemort and started killing. He didn't want to kill people with all magical blood. He wanted to wipe the earth of anyone having any muggle blood in them, including muggles. He also wanted to kill enough people to make 7 horcruxes. He wanted to make 7 because 7 is a powerful magical number. Time went on. Your grandparents went to school and, after they graduated, joined Order of the Phoenix. Albus Dumbledore became headmaster of Hogwarts and the greatest wizard of the age. James and Lily Potter were good friends with Dumbledore and soon had your dad.

"About 6 months after your dad was born, a Seer made a prophecy about him. I won't go into detail about it now, but it will come into play shortly.

"Well, your grandparents soon started defying Voldemort, but not as underground as the rest of the Order of the Phoenix. This made Voldemort angry and he was soon after them. So they went into hiding, their location secret-keeper was Peter Pettigrew, who had been a part of James' gang at Hogwarts, along with your dad's godfather, Sirius Black and my dad, Remus Lupin. They were the trouble makers of the school.

"But Peter, no matter how close he was to your dad in the past, soon betrayed the Potter's location to Lord Voldemort. Voldemort went to their house and killed both of your grandparents. But not your dad. He tried to kill your father, but his mother had placed a special protection on him, right before she died. She sacrificed herself willing to Voldemort in exchange for your father, which protected him from Voldemort. Dumbledore told Harry his theory on why he lived some years later. Dumbledore thought that it was his mother's love that was his protection and that that protection would break when he became an adult, which would make him vulnerable at the age of 17.

When Voldemort tried to kill Harry, though, it destroyed him. He was supposedly gone forever. And Harry was left with nothing, but a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Harry was rescued from his old house (which was now destroyed by Voldemort's curse backfiring) and sent to live with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Duddly from the time he was 1 to when he turned 11.

At age 11, he was sent to Hogwarts for the school year, against his Aunt and Uncle's wishes, because they didn't want anything to do with magic (they were all muggles). Harry didn't learn that he was a wizard until he turned 11 and didn't know that he was famous until then, too. At Hogwarts, he became popular. He had friends, where he had never had any before. His 2 closest friends, who are still his two best friends today are your aunt and uncle, Hermione and Ron. They stuck with him through it all. At the end of his 1st year, Harry rescued the Sorcerer's Stone from the hands of Professor Quirrell, who was planning on using the Stone to bring back Voldemort.

In his second year, your mom (who was in her first year) acquired one of the horcruxes, by mistake. It was a journal, and your mom poured her heart into every page of the journal. Soon, she became possessed by the journal and opened the Chamber of Secrets. The Chamber was a rumor that had been at the school since it was first opened. Supposedly, before Salazar Slytherin left the school, he build a hidden room which contained a ferocious monster, the basilisk, which is a giant snake that can kill you if you look into its eyes. After Ginny opened the chamber, the snake started going through the school, by means of the pipes. It was petrifying people and ghosts, including Hermione. Harry soon found the Chamber and defeated the basilisk, destroyed the journal and saved Ginny from death. To this day, the dead basilisk lies in the Chamber, without its fangs, that is explained later, though.

"There is a background story to this year. 12 years previous, Sirius Black had been sent Azkaban for the murder of Peter Pettigrew, the man who betrayed your parents. Peter had never really been murdered, but had become a rat and lived with the Weasley family for the past 12 years, until Harry's third year to be exact. Sirius had attempted to kill Pettigrew for betraying the Potters. So, Sirius was sent to live in Azkaban for 12 years while Pettigrew was all cozy with the Weasleys. Not that they knew that they were housing a Death Eater. He was disguised as a rat for those 12 years.

"In Harry's 3rd year, my father became the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher for Hogwarts. Sirius had also escaped from Azkaban, and left people thinking that he wanted to kill Harry for Voldemort. But it was just the opposite. In the meantime, Dementors were sent to guard Hogwarts. They were unnaturally attracted to Harry, so my dad taught him how to conjure a patronus."

"Wait, what is a dementor? What's a patronus?" Asked James, unfamiliar with these things.

"A dementor is a thing that sucks the happiness out of people and other things around it. They thrive on fear and sadness. They look like hooded men, who float and don't have faces. A dementor can also take your soul. The way they take it is by giving you a kiss. You never want a dementor's kiss. You are still human, but you no longer have a soul.

"A patronus is the exact opposite. It is conjured by a witch or wizard to defend themselves against dementors. They are made from happy thoughts and are also a way of communication, but that is harder to do. All patronuses take the form of animals; your father's was a stag, like his father's. I forget what your mother's is. They can show you what theirs look like though, when you get back home.

"So, Harry finds out that Sirius is his godfather, and a good guy and that Pettigrew is the bad guy. He also learns a secret about my father, that even I didn't know until after my first year and that no one else who was in this earlier knows," Teddy took a deep breath and continued. "My father was a werewolf. His father was attacked by a werewolf and the gene was passed to him. The gene was not passed to me." Said Teddy, when he saw James' troubled look. James breathed a sigh of relief and Teddy continued.

"Well Pettigrew escaped and helped join the search for whatever was left of Voldemort. The summer before Harry's 4th year, he went to the Quidditch World Cup, where Harry saw a Death Eater conjure the Dark Mark, which was Voldemort's sign and is branded onto each of the Death Eater's in his inner circle and is their means of communication. Harry went back to school and was soon entered, underage, into the tri-wizard tournament, by someone other than himself.

"Normally, the tri-wizard tournament has 3 champions, who compete in 3 events. But Harry made 4 champions. Well he had to compete in the events and he did. But during the 3rd event, he was transported, by the tri-wizard cup, which had been turned into a portkey, with his fellow champion, Cedric Diggory, to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. In the graveyard, Voldemort was resurrected and he dueled with Harry. Harry narrowly escaped, but Cedric died at the hands of Voldemort. When Harry returned to Hogwarts, with Cedric's body, he discovered who had made the cup into a portkey. It was the new defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Mad-eye Moody even though it really wasn't Mad-eye; it was Barty Crouch, Jr., who had used polyjuice potion all year to disguise himself as Mad-eye. Now, the wizarding world was in trouble again from Voldemort, the Ministry of Magic was hushing it all up, so as not to worry everyone and labeled Harry a liar for telling the truth that Voldemort was back.

"Well, I think that we should be getting to bed for tonight, eh James? James?" Asked Teddy. He looked up and smiled when he saw that James was fast asleep. Teddy shook him gently awake and helped him get to bed. Then Teddy went to bed himself and the last thing he saw before he fell asleep was a snowy owl flying past the window, bearing an unknown secret.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I thought you might like a few notes about me. I like writing. This is my first fanfic, but I have been following a couple stories for a while now. The idea for this one came to me about a year ago, when I thought about how life would be a Hogwarts for Harry's kids. I only made up a couple of the names. The rest were ones that JK Rowling came up with (such as the cousins, James and his siblings and the aunts names). I do not own the rights for any of this stuff, just like everyone else on this site. **

**So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story!**

**Lyla Ride**

Chapter 5

James awoke the next morning to a shrieking coming from the common room. All the other boys in the room, Louis and Jake included, were sitting bolt upright. Louis was rubbing his eyes and Jake's hair was askew. The one of their roommates, Darren Wolfe, a brawny, brave boy, got up and raced to the door, only to almost collide head on into Penny, hurrying in to deliver news. Louis seemed to register the presence of a girl first.

"Oi," he said sleepily, "no girls allowed."

"Fine," said Penny, crossing her arms, and looking away, "I won't tell you what I know."

"Hey, be nice, Lou," said James, rising out of bed, "Penny, Darren just ran off to find out anyways and you really aren't supposed to be in here, so spill quick." Penny uncrossed her arms and flounced over to the window seat next to James' bed, where she plunked herself down, much to the annoyance of the other boys. Jake stumbled over and sat on the edge of James' bed to listen, hair still out of place. Lou decided that he wanted information more than he wanted Penny to get out, so he turned to face the music.

"Well, I heard that your Victoire and Teddy were going to play a prank on Peeves, but he was waiting for them just outside the passage out of Gryffindor. Teddy and Victoire have played a prank on Peeves on the first day back every year for about 4 years now, so Peeves wanted revenge.

"So when Victoire and Teddy were both out of the passage, Peeves dropped a massive ball of Polyjuice Potion on them and they both turned into McGonagall! It was Victoire's scream that you heard."

At this point, McGonagall's voice could be heard as she climbed through the passage.

"Well, I never! And what were you two dong out of bed at this hour? The morning bell hasn't even rang!"

Everyone in the dormitories was out in the common room by the time James, Penny, Lou and Jake got there. McGonagall stood in front of the fireplace, which mostly contained coals now and glared sternly at the identical hers sitting in the armchairs in front of her, sopping wet and frowning, probably because they failed to complete their prank, not because they were getting lectured. James had somehow made it to the front with Penny, leaving the other two behind.

"Sneaking around on the first day! And Mr. Lupin, you in your last year and being a role model! Same to you Ms. Weasley! Two weeks detention for the both of you! Ms. McMillan, please take Mr. Potter and help escort these troublemakers to Madam Pomfrey to have the potion undone."  
"Yes, ma'am," murmured Penny, grabbing James' elbow to pull him front and center. The soggy McGonagalls rose from their seats and followed James and Penny to the hospital wing. As soon as the portrait closed behind them Victoire and Teddy grinned, laughed and exchanged high-fives.

"Yes!" exclaimed Teddy, glancing around the corridors, "this is so perfect! Quick, we have to hurry." He got down low and Victoire followed in suit. James and Penny started after them and quickened their pace top keep up. Once they were behind a statue of an ugly old wizard, Teddy pulled a folded piece of paper and his wand from his robe. He tapped the paper and murmured, I solemnly swear I am up to no good. The paper opened to reveal a map of Hogwarts and its grounds. Penny and James' eyes followed the dots with little labels next to them. Names. Of everyone. Teddy's keen eyes searched for one dot in particular, as Victoire pulled a silver flask from her robes. She took a small swig from it and then handed it to Teddy, who also had a gulp. Their skin started bubbling like wax, and their hair shot back into their heads. Victoire's turned red and Teddy's turned brown, then turquoise. Victoire shrank in size, while Teddy grew. After one final shiver down their spines, the old Teddy and Victoire were back.

"Whoa," said James and Penny at the same time, causing the other two to glance up at them. Victoire spoke.

"Polyjuice potion is easily cured with a simple remedy that I always keep with me. It has come in handy multiple times. If I hadn't screamed, me and Teddy could have easily continued with our plan, but we can just as easily carry it out n—"

"I found him!" said Teddy, pointing to a location on the map with his wand. "He is outside the third floor girls' room." Then he chanced a glance at James and Penny. "Are we taking them with us or sending them back to the tower?"

Victoire thought for a second, then turned to face the pair of first years.

"You can come on one condition," she said, "you must follow every order we give you. Got it? Let's go."

Teddy guided Victoire away with a hand on the small of her back. Victoire blushed ever so slightly, but turned quickly away and started fast walking down the hall to the stairs. Teddy motioned for James and Penny to go before him, the followed behind them. The little procession went like that to the corner before the third floor. There had been one close call with the caretaker's cat, but she had not seen them. Teddy just laughed and called the cat senile. Victoire peered around the corner and saw Peeves circling in the air, cackling at his own prank. Victoire looked back at Teddy, nodded slightly and pulled some Bertie Bott's beans from her pocket. She walked up to Peeves.

"Hey, bonehead!"

Peeves turned around and stopped laughing, but then a wry smile came over his face. He soared closer to Victoire, who was holding her hand out.

"I had some extra jellybeans lying around and wondered if you wanted any?"

While Peeves considered this, Teddy narrated what was going on.

"Peeves has a thing for wizard candy. Ghosts generally don't eat human food, but that is mostly because it reminds them of their human lives. Most enjoy being ghosts. Peeves can't get enough of the stuff, though."

"You did something to it," Peeves concluded, "Iam no fool. I enjoy my sweets, but not the ones that come from you!"

Victoire took a singular jellybean from her hand and put it into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. Then she looked at Peeves and shrugged as if to say, see, nothing bad will happen. Peeves still looked suspicious, but took one anyways. That was when it happened.

Smoke started pouring from his ears, while flames exited his mouth. He then flew down the hall screaming and Victoire sprinted back around the corner and motioned for the others to follow. They ran back to Gryffindor tower in record time. That was how James started his Hogwarts experience.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This story keeps dragging on, so don't be surprised if I end the first one short because I ran out of ideas. The main idea for this one was that James was learning about his father's fame, so it might just end soon. **

Chapter 6

The days became weeks, weeks months. James soon developed a pattern: wake up breakfast, classes, lunch, classes, break, dinner, break, bed, and repeat as necessary. The days were punctuated by letters from home. Albus was receiving straight A's; Lily was learning to ride a broom. They had gone to Diagon Alley and met up with Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, Rose and Hugo. Picnicked with Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur. Visited Uncle Charlie over Halloween. James' year was uneventful. Teddy finished telling him the story and then his dad came to add to it.

"It is not that I didn't want to tell you." Harry had said, when they had met in James' dormitory, "I just didn't want you to deal with the pressure."

It had been a short visit and after saying hi to some of the people he knew, Harry left by apparition in Hogsmeade. That had been two weeks into the term.

Now, it was the week before Christmas break, and all seemed well. James' circle of first year friends included himself, Penny, Jake, Louis, Lorcan ( the son of one of his father and mother's friends, Luna), Emma (daughter of Lavender Brown and Dean Thomas), Amelia (daughter of Seamus Finnigan and Padma Patil) and Chloe (a witch whose muggle parents lived in America, but had heard that Hogwarts was the best school). They had spent the first months of school studying and forming bonds, avoiding teachers and finding secret passageways (too many to count, Jake tried, as did Emma) but mostly trying to find their niche. And by break, most of them had.

Louis and Amelia were social butterflies, and the group's connection to all gossip and persons in the school. Jake and Emma soon emerged at the head of the class, both having read almost all of the textbooks before the school year started, and perpetual tutors for the rest of the group. Lorcan and Chloe were the brooding, mysterious ones who seemed to attract the least amount of attention, and were great at sneaking. Penny was the charismatic, trustworthy friend that everyone had and everyone was friends with. She loved to listen to people's stories and James' had learned to trust her with long ago with anything. James, though, was hard to figure out. He was no good in social situations, average at wand work, but stuck out like a sore thumb because of his father famousness. But he had no idea that his friends saw him as the brave one, the one they could count on to do anything, overcome any obstacle. Like when Emma, Amelia and Penny got cornered by Peeves, James used the stupefy charm to help them get away. And when Jake and Lorcan needed help studying for the potions test, James rallied the rest of the group into pulling an all-nighter. He was the loyal one.

But James was true to his heritage as well. The day before he left for Hogwarts his father had given him a present. It was a cloak of immense power that made its wearer invisible. James used it to sneak around the castle at night. The first couple of times he had gone by himself, but soon wanted to share the experience so he invited Penny along with him and had never been alone since. They had found so many secret passageways, but only they knew about them. They decided it was better this way, partially because they still didn't know who could keep a secret in their group and once they had found a passageway into a store in Hogsmeade.

But now, it was time for break and all were going home to families


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: This will be the second to last chapter and just kind of gives you a taste of James' home life, which is why I thought it was important to add.**

Chapter 7

_It is good to be home_, thought James as he settled into his favorite chair in his family's living room in Godric's Hollow. Lily and Albus must have heard the door slam because before his dad even made it into the living room, they were downstairs.

"JAMIE!!!!!!" screamed Lily, tackling James with a bear hug. Albus followed close behind her and James lifted am arm from hugging his sister to ruffle his brother's hair. Their mother, Ginny came down the stairs just as Harry came into the living room, bearing the burden of suitcases. His green eyes scanned the happy scene of siblings reunited until they found his wife. She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I trust everything went alright?" asked Ginny, relieving Harry of some of his burden, as Lily's endless chatter filled the ears of her brothers.

"Yeah, just about," said Harry, turning to face Ginny, "the train was delayed slightly, but I kept busy."

"Good. Where is Teddy? Didn't you invite him over for dinner?"

Harry made a "no big deal" motion with his hands. "Teddy said he and Andromeda would be over after he unpacked. Ron and Hermione will be over in about an hour and so will Bill and Fleur." Harry started up the stairs with Ginny close at his heels.

"Ugh," sighed Ginny softly, "I still can't stand her, even if her kids are complete gems. Victoire, Dom and Louis are coming too, right?"

"Of course..."

The rest of the conversation went unheard by James, for his parents were now out of range. He turned to his younger siblings for catching up.

"So, what happened while I was gone?"

"Nothing much," replied Albus, going to lounge on the couch.

"Albus Severus!" said Lily, shrilly, "don't lie! Tell him what happened last week!"

"Ok, ok, my powers finally came in," he grumbled, looking bashful.

"Albus! That is awesome!" exclaimed James, ruffling his hair again, then turning to Lily, "which means we only have a year of peace and quiet left before this little redhead gets her powers!"

Lily looked shocked and crossed her arms, facing away from James. "James Sirius Potter, I can't believe you just said that." Whenever Lily was upset with someone, the eight-year-old would use their full names against them.

"Ahh, c'mon Lil, I didn't mean it. I was only kidding."

Lily still didn't look at him.

"Ok, fine," said James, raising his hands in false surrender, "I guess you will never know what present I brought you back from Hogwarts…" Lily instantly turned around, eyes wide in forgiveness.

"Presents! Oh, goody!! Where are they?!" At this point, even Albus looked intrigued.

"Come, on, follow me." Said James, rising to play the leader while the others followed. They went upstairs, to where his mum and dad were unpacking his things. Harry was just pulling out the wrapped gifts when they came in the room.

"PRESENTS!!!" shrieked Lily. Like all little kids, their joys in life come from what others can give them. Lily raced to her father, arms outstretched. Harry abandoned ship, knowing better than to stand between a young girl and a wrapped package from her older brother. Albus followed Lily, but more slowly. He was the quiet one of the family, but was not afraid to speak his mind when the situation called for it. He was also brilliant and had a knack with pranks and jokes, a trait inheirited from his Uncle George and his late Uncle Fred. While Lily and Albus tore into their presents, James had a question about Christmas.

"Mum? Where is the party this year?"

Ginny looked up from the clothes she was sorting. "At our house. Oh and we have so much to do! So many people are coming this year! Ron and Hermione and Bill and Fleur of course, with Grandpa and Grandma Weasley. I also invited George and Angelina and Percy and Audrey and of course Charlie. Umm, there is Aunt Andromeda and Teddy, and the McMillans, the Finnigans and the Thomas', plus Luna and Rolf and their kids, and Hagrid, Neville, Kingsley, and anyone else in the Order.

Oh, so much to do, and dinner tonight! Lily, Albus, come downstairs and help me make dinner. Harry, go make the yard look presentable, please. James, finish unpacking and then help your father with the yard, ok? Come on, let's go!" Ginny ushered everyone downstairs, muttering directions all the while, leaving James to his thoughts of what really hadn't changed while he was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It had been a good Christmas. Lot's of presents, people in and out all the while. The party had been the best part. Teddy was still not allowed to do magic outside of school, turning 17 in April, and not enjoying one minute of it, but during the fireworks put on by Uncle Bill, Uncle George and Uncle Charlie, James could've sworn he saw Teddy and Victoire sneaking off into the massive garden out back. Though when he asked them later what they were up to, they denied the incident entirely, claiming they were watching the fireworks with everyone else out front. But they both blushed slightly before James looked away and James thought he saw them holding hands that day, when they thought no one was looking. James would be watching them.

Now it was back to school, back to classes. He used Floo Powder to return to Hogwarts. He had brought most of his presents with him. Mostly candy and clothes, he got a few books and some knick-kncks, but his favorite present was the season tickets to the Chudley Cannons, from Uncle Charlie. James was a huge Chudley Cannons fan and Uncle Charlie had gotten him 4 tickets to each game!

When he got back to the common room, he found his group in their corner by the fireplace. Snow was falling lightly outside, and most of his friends were huddled inside, where it was warm. Chloe, Emma and Amelia were knitting in the corner, Penny was reading a book, while Lorcan was practicing the spell the Charms Professor, Professor Spygrey , had given them before winter break, Wingradium Leviosa, without much success. Jake and Louis were absent.

"Hi, James." Said Penny, without looking up from her story. The cover said _Twilight_. James recognized the name, but he didn't know where from. He lugged his trunk upstairs with his parents' present, a snowy white owl. His father said he had had one when he was James' age, named Hedwig, so James decided upon this name for his bird as well. After coming back from the dormitories, the other girls gave him hugs, while Penny rolled her eyes and went back to her book. She had never been one for hugging, even from her parents.

James then remembered where he heard the title of Penny's book. It was from Lily's nonstop talking.

"Hey," he asked, getting Penny's attention, after stories of Christmas had been exchanged, "isn't that that American muggle book about vampires?"

"Yeah," said Penny, looking slightly ashamed, "but hey, if witches and wizards exist, why not vampires? My secret santa got it for me." Penny dove back into her reading. James had almost forgotten. The day before winter break, the group had decided to do secret santa, drawing names from a hat to pick people, and they were supposed to leave their present for the other person somewhere for them to find before the end of the week they came back and on Friday night, Penny and James were going to show the rest of the group a room they had found whose entrance kept changing. I had a pattern, but not one that was hard to figure out.

James had gotten Amelia for his secret santa. With Lily's help, he had gotten her a pair of earrings from Diagon Alley that sang a background melody to fit the atmosphere of the situation. He needed to find a spot to leave them before Friday. Maybe in one of their classes together?

At that moment, Louis and Jake burst through the portal with Noah Leak and Tom Kringlee, all exchanging high-fives, and covered in quickly melting snow. Louis and Jake made their way over to the fire to dry off and spotted James.

"Hey, James," said Louis, whom James had seen throughout winter break so he already knew all of his stories. But Jake seemed ready to burst at the seams.

"James! I had the best break ever! My parents missed me so much, and it turns out my little sister also belongs in the magical world, 'cuz she got her powers while I was gone! She is coming to Hogwarts next year!"

"That's great, mate," said James, "my brother is coming in two years and he just got his powers too!"

"What?!" asked Louis "Albus got his powers?! How come I didn't know?"

"Well, he is a little shy. He didn't want to show them off with Rosie over so much. She hasn't gotten hers yet."

"Oh, but still! No one told me!" Louis crossed his arms and pouted, looking just like Lily. James stifled a laugh and turned back to Penny, knowing Louis would be over himself in about 5 seconds.

But Penny had darted away while James was preoccupied. She quickly returned with an essay she had done over break and handed it to Emma.

"Could you check it for me? I need it to be perfect."

"Sure thing, Penny," replied Emma, putting down her knitting to look over the paper. And so the second semester begins.

**Author's Note: So this is the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed. BTW reviews are like the frosting on the cake...the best part! So review!! And watch for the next story, Albus' First Year, coming to a FanFiction site nearest you soon! Also, the year that this story takes place is 2014, according to JK Rowling's dates for the original HP.**


End file.
